iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Fish stories are famous for being exaggerated, but this particular fish story has the video to prove it’s true.
On Saturday, a fisherman was able to reel in a hammerhead shark off of Panama City Beach in Florida.
Curtis Williams, who was visiting from Birmingham, Alabama, was flying a drove over the shore when he saw the epic catch-and-release encounter.
“[I was] vacationing at the beach and was going to video a nice pleasant sunset,” Williams told Storyful. “I noticed a man wading in the water and something close to him. I brought the drone down and quickly realized a monster hammerhead was next to him.”
As seen in the video, it almost looks like a scary scene out of the movie “Jaws.” As the drone zoomed in on the battle, the hammerhead shark struggles with the fisherman as a crowd gathered on the shore, watching in amazement.
The fisherman reels the shark in closer to him and is able to grab the shark’s tail. The shark thrashes as it’s brought on shore.
Williams told ABC News he found out later that the fisherman followed the proper protocol to release the shark back into the water.
“That night, I was walking the beach and found the gentlemen fishing and asked a few questions about the catch,” Williams said.
Williams noted that the fisherman was “thrilled” when he found out that Williams had videotaped the event.
“I asked if he wanted me to include his name or anything, and he wasn’t interested,” Williams added. “The conversation was more of a quick ‘Southern’ chat about a great catch.”
According to the Panama City News Herald, the fisherman volunteered to reel in the area’s hammerhead sharks for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hammerhead sharks are a protected species, according to NOAA. These sharks have experienced great population reduction in some parts of the world, and tagging them can help track the population size.
“The group out fishing are extremely experienced shark fishermen [and women] and regularly volunteer with NOAA to tag and release sharks,” the Panama City News Herald explained on its Facebook page. “[The volunteers] tag and release the sharks.”
The Panama City News Herald added that these hammerhead sharks are safely released back into the sea by the volunteers after they are tagged.
This wasn’t the only tag-and-release of a hammerhead that weekend. Multiple social media posts showed various volunteers helping NOAA:
Bringing in a Hammerhead shark off the Mexico Beach pier pic.twitter.com/iVio1x0DW4
— Eryn Dion (@PCNHErynDion) July 1, 2017
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